The legendary artist often called the Queen of American pop music, Peggy Lee, was born on May 26, 1920, in Jamestown, North Dakota. Before she wrote or co-wrote 270 songs, Lee ran away from home at the age of seventeen with just eighteen dollars in her pocket to seek stardom in California. Her early hustle included a brief stint barking for a carnival game and pouring coffee in a busy cafe before a severe throat infection forced her to return home for a tonsillectomy, a medical detour that ultimately helped deepen the sultry, minimalist vocal tone that later made her famous.
Image of Peggy Lee with Danny Thomas for the 1952 remake of The Jazz Singer via Wikimedia Commons, public domain